I am based at the University of Nottingham and have an ESRC 1+3 Studentship Award. This has so far covered the first year of my MA (2003-2004), and is expected to cover at least the first three years of my PhD (2005-2008). The second year of my MA was not funded, as I was unable to complete the course within the required 12 months due to my disabilities and therefore had to take a suspension. Having completed my MA in July 2005 at my own expense, my funding was reinstated to cover a three-year PhD period starting October 2005. Previous experience shows that because of my disabilities it takes me longer to complete a taught course (four years instead of three for my BA, two years instead of one for my MA), but it is not yet known what impact these will have on my progression during a research based course. However, I am now approximately a year behind where I intended to be at this point due to a prolonged period of illhealth. In recognition of this, ESRC have granted me a 12 month funded extension on disability grounds.
